Stock feeding mechanism



June 23, 1953 J. L. GIFFEN STOCK FEEDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1946 8 WW mfiT I. T Lv S C. m J

11L h m June 23, 1953 L. GIFFEN STOCK FEEDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 11, 1946 INVENTOR.

James L. Giffcrz ATTORNEYS June 23, 1953 J GIFFEN 2,643,115

STOCK FEEDING MECHANISM Filed June 11, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. James L. Gg'ffen ATTORNEYS Patented June 23, 1953 STOCK FEEDING MECHANISM James L. Giffen, Hudson, 'N. Y assignor, by mesne assignments, to Emhart Manufacturing Company, a corporation 01' Delaware Application June 11, 1946, .Serial'No. 676,041

6 Claims. I

This invention relates to stock feeding ,mech anism and has for its general object and purpose to provide certain important improvements in my prior invention disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,330,119, issued September 21, 1943, whereby, in a materially simplified construction, increased operating efliciency, utility and reliable service of such mechanisms will be realized.

As shown in the above patent, the mechanism is adapted to intermittently feed the stock, usual ly supplied in strip form from a reel, to a punch press or other machin where the stock is operated upon by suitable tools. This mechanism is essentially characterized by opposed cooperatins stock feeding members, one of which is associated with a friction braking unit and operated in timed relation to the punch'press, whereby said member will first be moved into gripping engagement with the stock, and then actuated against the resistance of the braking unit to impart a rectilinear feedin movement to the stock.

It is one of the important objects of the present invention to provide an improved assembly and cooperative connection betwefin the stock feeding member and the braking unit, whereby automatic compensation to! brake lining wear is obtained with a more cohesive gripping pressure engagement of the feed member with the stock prior to the actuation of said member in stool: feeding direction.

A more particular object ofthe invention resides in the provision of multiple friction braking units with the brake bands mounted for rocking movement about a common pivot axis and the brake drums and actuating means for the stock feeding member floatingly supported by the brake bands.

It is another object of the invention to provide conveniently adjustable means for regulatin the clearance between the'oppcsed cooperating feeding members in accordance with varying thicknesses of the stock, with. additional means operable to quickly increase such clearance relation between the feeding members to facilitate the insertion or removal of the stock.

A further object of theinvention is to provide simple and easily accessible means for adjusting thebrake controlled stock, feeding member to position its stock grip-ping surface out of parallelism with the surface of the QPDOsed feeding member transversely of the path of feed and thereby compensate for inequalities in stock thickness. I I

An additional objectof the invention is to provide stock-clamping means in advance of the feeding members to prevent slipping or overrunning of the stock, with automatically operated means for releasing the clamping or holding pressure on the stock at the start of each feeding movement and restoring such clamping pressure at the end of the feeding movement.

It is also the aim and purpose of the present invention to provide a stock-feeding mechanism as above characterized in which the several cooperating elements are of rugged and durable structural form, which will reliably function to impart intermittent feeding movements of uniformly accurate length to the stock, and which will have a maximum periodoi useful service with negligible maintenance expense.

With the above and other subordinate objects in view, the invention comprises the improved stock feeding mechanism, and the construction and relative arrangement of its several parts, as will hereinafter be more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims.

In the drawings wherein I have disclosed a simple and practical embodiment of the present invention, and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, illustrating one practical example of the present invention;

' Figure 2 is a rear end elevation, certain parts being shown in section;

Figure 3 isa top plan view; and

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring in further detail to the drawings, in the selected embodiment of the invention, spaced parallel frame members In and [2 respectively are bolted or otherwise rigidly afixed to the bed of the punch press or other machine (not shown) Each of these frame members at its rear end is formed with a vertically extending portion M, in the upper ends of which the opposite ends of a transverse rod or shaft iii are securely fixed by means of the set screws l8.

As herein shown, two friction brake units are mounted upon the shaft I6 for rocking movement, each of these brake units including an adjustable brake band or strap embodying upper and lower sections 20 and 22 respectively,'each of which is internally faced with brake lining material 24. Each pair of brake-strap sections 20 and 22 are connected at their corresponding ends in a common hinge joint, indicated at 26 in Figure 3, andsupported on the pivot rod or" shaft It for unitary rocking movement about the axis thereof and for relative pivotal movement. Relative axial movement of the brake-straps on the pivot rod IS with respect to the frame members I and I2 is prevented by the rectangular spacing collar 28 on the rod I6 between said brake-straps.

Each pair of brake strap sections at their other ends are formed with apertured lugs 30 connected by the conventional bolt 32, brake spring 34 and adjusting nut 36 for adjustment of brake pressure in the usual manner. Within each of these adjustable brake straps a drum 38 is fioatingly supported and a shaft 40 extends through the bearing hubs 42 of said brake drums. Between the drums, an operating or driving lever 44 is secured to shaft 40by set screw I30, and each brake drum is rigidly secured to said lever by a plurality of bolts 46. A friction clutch connection is thus provided between arm 48 and the pivoted brake band members which carry arm 48. The lever 44 is provided with a horizontal arm 48 extending outwardly beyond the brake drums and having a forked terminal to which a coupling link 50 is pivotally connected'as at .52. This link is adapted to be connected with the lower end of an actuating rod or pitman, the upper end of which is connected with a crank or eccentric at one end 'of the tool actuating shaft of the punch press or other machine as shown in Patent 2,330,119. At its inner end, lever 44 is formed with spaced legs 54 extending downwardly at the front and rear of the shaft 40. Between these legs, the upwardly extending rectangular shank 58 of a rockable stock gripping and feeding member 56 is received. This shank and the legs 54 of the operating lever are provided with coinciding apertures to receive the clamping bolt 60. One end of the bolt and the aperture in one leg 54 are threaded so that by adjustment of said bolt, the spaced legs 54 are drawn into tight clamping engagement against opposite sides of the rectangular shank 58, whereby the feeding member 56 is rigidly secured in fixed relation to lever 48 and brake drums 38. Set screws 62 threaded in the walls of the brake drums 38, bear against the other side faces of the shank 58 and by the adjustment of these screws, the feeding member 56 may be rocked about the axis of the clamping bolt 60 to position its stock gripping surface with respect to the path of feed of the stock. The memside arms 68 of a lever I0 are rockably mounted at their rear ends. These rear ends of the lever arms are integrally connected by the upwardly extending, inverted V-shaped leg I2- of the lever which is formed at its upper end with a boss I4 in which adjusting screw I6 is mounted. One end of this screw bears against the rear face of the spacing block 28 on rod I5 and the rear end of said screw carries a suitable lock nut 18.

In the lever arms 68, the opposite ends of a shaft 80 are securely fixed by means of set screws 82 and upon this shaft the lower cylindrical feed member 84 is supported for free rotation, said member being provided with suitable bushingsBS pressed into each end thereof to serve as bearings on the shaft 80.

Between the forward ends of the lever arms 15 60 a lower stock clamping member 88 is secured at its ends by the bolts 90. These forward ends of the lever arms are connected by the bar 32, having a bracket flange 94 at each end secured to the respective lever arms by the screws 36. The bar 92 is provided with spaced longitudinally extending slots 38, in which the vertical bolts I00 carrying stock guiding rollers I02 are adjustably mounted. In advance of the feeding member 84, a stock supporting and guiding plate I64 is attached at its opposite ends to the upper edges of the lever arms 68 by screws I 06. A similar stock guiding plate I08 extends between the lever arms at their rear ends, and is preferably carried by a bracket member IIO detachably secured to a transverse connecting web II2 between the lever arms by means of screws H4.

Between the lower feeding member 84 and clamping member 88, each of the frame members I! and I2 is formed with an upwardly extending lug H6. Upon a stud bolt II8 mounted in each lug II6, a lever I20 is fulcrumed intermediate of its ends. Between the forward ends of these levers and in vertically opposed relation to the lower clamping member 88, an upper clamping member I22 is secured by bolts I24. The rear ends of levers I 20 are pivotally connected as at I26 to the lower end of arms I28, which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the opposite ends of the brake drum carrying shaft 40.

It will be understood from the above description that by adjusting the screw 16 in the upper end of the lever I0, said lever may be rocked upon the eccentric portions 66 of shaft 64 to vary the clearance between the lower feed member 84 and clamping member 68 carried by said lever and the upper feeding member 56 and clamping member I22 respectively, in accordance with varying thicknesses of the stock. In order to quickly insert or remove the stock, I provide additional means for rapidly displacing the lower feeding and clamping members with respect to the upper cooperating members which comprises the lever I32 keyed to one end of shaft 64, as shown at I34, and fixed against axial movement on the shaft by set screw I36. This lever extends upwardly from the shaft and at its upper end carries the plunger or latch rod I36, axially movable through the hollow boss I 40 on the lever and yieldingly urged in one direction by the spring I42 in said boss to engage the inner end thereof in the socket or bore I44 provided in a lug or boss I46 on the outer side of the adjacent part I4 of one of the frame members. The outer end of rod I38 is provided with a suitablehand knob I48 whereby said rod maybe withdrawn from the recess I44. 1

With the lever I32 in its latched position as seen in Figure 1, lever I0 may be adjusted by means of screws 16 to regulate the stock feeding clearance between members 56 and 84. For the insertion or removal of the stock, the rod I38 is pulled outwardly and lever I 32 is swung in the clockwise direction to a substantially horizontal position. Thus shaft 64 is rotated and the cocentric portions 66 on said shaft bodily displace the lever relative to the shaft axis rearwardly and downwardly, thus rapidly lowering the feeding member 84 and clamping member 88 so that the stock may be easily and quickly inserted between the feeding members or withdrawn.

Having now described the several structural features of the present invention, its operation Will be understood as follows:

Having first properly adjusted the rollers I02 in accordance with the width of the stock, and with the lever Ml and members at and- 83 inv the downwardly displaced position as above explained, the stool: S is inserted between clam-ping members it and its and feeding members do and 8 4 over guide plates 5G and I53 to a point rearwardly ofsaid feeding members. After returning and securely latching the lever is in the position of Figure 1, it is then adjusted by means of screw it to establish a desired predetermined clearance relation between the feeding members 55 and 84 in accordance with stock thickness. In the downward movements of the driving connection, transmitted through lever arm cs, the stock will now be intermittently fed in timed relation to the operation of the punch press or other machine, and it will be noted that in the feeding portion of each operating cycle, owing to the frictional braking pressure of the brake straps upon the walls 'of member 5c, is first swung downwardlyabout the axis of the rod or shaft is until such movement is stopped by the stock and the lower cylindrical feed member l i. Continued downward movement of lever arm causes a frictional gripping pressure of the member upon the stock until the frictional resistance of the brake bands to rotation of the drums 38 is overcome. This gripping pressure on the stock may thus be varied as required by the adjustment of the brake band springs 3 5. As the downward movement of lever arm d8 continues, the drums 38, with feeding member 5% rigidly connected therewith, are then rocked relative to the brake bands in an anticlockwise direction to positively feed the stock S in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1 of the drawings. Of course, it will be apparent that in the initial bodily movement of the brake units and lever assembly, the shaft til moves therewith, and through the connections I28 and 52%, the upper clamping member !22 will be lifted out of contact with the stock so that the clamping members will offer no resistance to its feeding movement in the subsequent rocking motion of the feeding member 56. By proper adjustment of the driving connections, the downward movement of lever arm id may bevaried to regulate the degree of rocking motion of feeding member t5 and the length of each rectilinear feeding movement of the stool: 8.

At the end of the feeding movement of mem ber lever at, the entire upper feeding assembly, including the two brake units, swings upwardly about the axis of pivot rod iii and in this movement, levers lfiil are rocked to force the clamping bar 522 downwardly and securely clamp and hold the stool; between said bar and the lower clamping bar 88 on lever HG. Thus the slipping or overrunning of the stock beyond the pre-set length of feed is effectively prevented. The member 565 is thus lifted out of contact with the stool: and as the drums iii? are rotated relative to the brake straps in the continued upward movement of lever arm d8 in the clockwise direction, the rocking movement of feeding member is reversed and at the end of the upward movement of lever arm the feeding member '55 is returned to its original position with respect to the feeding member as seen in Figure 1 of the drawings.

it will be noted from the above description that the two brake drums and feeding member 55 are in effect journaled in the brake linings 2 5 so that the drums 38 will automatically center themselves cc and at the start of the upward movement (mi-the linings, regardless of unequal wear of the brakelmingsr Accordingly positive and effective gripping and feeding action of the member 56 is assured, even after prolonged periods of severe use. It will therefore be appreciated that by means of my present improvements, uniformity in length of the intermittent feeding movements of the stock isobtained with greater accuracy than has heretofore been possible. Also the greatly increased braking area and the means for adjusting and rigidlyclamping the upper feeding member to the operating lever to compensate for inequalities in stock thickness, is an important feature of the present improvements.

It will further be seen that I have provided easily accessible means for quickly making the several required adjustments. It will also be noted that the severalv coooperating mechanical parts are of rugged and durable structural-form and may be easily and accurately assembled for maximum operating efficiency. In view of the simplicity of my novel stock; feeding mechanism, 1

it will further be evident that the production cost thereof will be reasonably low. I

The invention may be embodiedin other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In strip feeding mechanism, opposed feeding and clamping members between which the strip passes, mechanism for moving one of said feeding members toward and away from the other during a strip feeding cycle, an adjustable support for the other feeding member and one of said clamp members, means for adjusting said support to variably regulate the strip feeding clearance between said members.

2. Strip feeding mechanism as defined in claim 1, comprising a rockably mounted shaft having an eccentric portion on which said support is rockably mounted, and a normally latched lever fixed to said shaft operable to rotate said shaft and angularly shift the position of said support relative to the shaft axis, whereby said mem" bers may be quickly separated independently of said adjusting means for insertion or removal of a strip between said members.

3. In an intermittent strip feed apparatus, a strip feed member having an arcuate strip engaging face, a supporting arm for said feed member mounted for rocking movement on an axis substantially parallel to the direction of feed of the strip, and an adjustable connection between said member and arm for rocking said feed memher on said arm about an axis transversely of said first axis so as to properly position said strip engaging face relative to the strip.

4. Intermittent strip feeding apparatus comprising a pair of rockable feed members between which the strip is disposed during feeding, a spaced pair of strip clamping members, mechanism mounting one of said feed members for movement toward and away from the other feed member during strip feeding, a support for said other feed member and one of said clamping member, a fine adjustment for said support for setting a desired clearance between said pairs of members, and a separate adjustment for said support for quickly displacing said one clamping member and said other feed member a substantial distance from the other clamping member and said one feed member for insertion or removal of said strip stock.

5. Intermittent strip feed mechanism comprising a frame, a member pivoted upon a fixed axis on said frame and swingable toward and away from the strip feed path, an arm pivoted on said member adapted to be connected to an actuator and carrying a strip feed element, a friction clutch connection between said arm and member permitting relative rotation of said arm and member when said feed element engages said strip, synchronously operable strip clamping mechanism comprising a lever intermediately pivoted on said frame, a strip clamp on one end of said lever, and a link connecting the other end of said lever with said arm.

6. In strip stock feeding apparatus, a relatively stationary support, guide means for said stock on said support, and means for linearly feeding said stock through said guide means comprising a friction brake :band assembly pivoted directly on said support, a brake drum rockably and floatingly 8 supported within said brake band, a feed lever rigid with said brake drum and having a part adapted to be operably connected to a machine for performing an operation on said stock, a feed member having a section adapted to engage said stock, and a normally rigid adjustable connection between said lever and said member for properly positioning said section with respect to said stock.

JAMES L. GIFFEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 690,816 Albrecht Jan. 7, 1902 1,486,288 Forsyth Mar. 11, 1924 2,005,124 Anderson June 18, 1935 2,069,318 Lloyd et a1. Feb. 2, 1937 2,123,488 Presby July 12, 1938 2,128,964 Pityo Sept. 6, 1938 2,222,168 Brooks Nov. 19, 1940 2,228,245 Barker et a1 Jan. 14, 1941 2,330,119 Giflen Sept. 21, 1943 2,348,456 Dickerman May 9, 1944 

